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Re-use of Gags and Themes in Akatsuka Works
Although Fujio Akatsuka published a variety of different series and characters from the 1950s to the 1990s, astute readers may notice some types of recycled elements, "self-homages", or remade content across his body of work. There may even be small gags that will wind up otherwise re-used in another title as well. This page will list and note such examples where applicable. Common Imagery and Motifs That are Spotted *An illustration of the singing duo The Peanuts can be seen on television in select works, with the same pose and composition repeated. *An aerial shot of the beach, often in the same or similar composition, may be repeated through some stories that require a beach-related plot. *A shot of a wall overlooking a downtown river in Tokyo. This image in particular appeared in Extraordinary Ataro, and was then directly lifted for a chapter of its remake run in the 1990s. *In some early 1960s stories, the Takara toy "Dakko-chan" was prone to make appearances due to its popularity with young children. *Similarly, the year of 1959 was considered the year of the "Hula Hoop boom" where the toy was a popular trend. As a result, some Akatsuka works or other works he had a hand in (such as ''Angel in the Dark'') can be seen to have characters enjoying playing around with the hoops, including a one-shot titled "Hoop of Hula-chan". *As Akatsuka was a Yomiuri Giants fan, the Giants would wind up getting many shout-outs through baseball references in particular later works, including ''Weekly Special Boy''. Specific Recycled Gags *Nama-chan stealing a fusuma off a wall to write on was later imitated by Bakabon and Papa in The Genius Bakabon. *The one-shot I am a Salaryman has a gag involving the two brothers mistaking their father's boss for his dog, due to him being seen inside a doghouse and having a rough face. They later wind up mistaking the boss' son for the dog as well, due to both the son and dog having identical faces. This "man mistaken for his dog" gag would later be repeated in the ''Osomatsu-kun'' story "The Cutie Living Next Door" when Kinko's father and her dog Pes are continuously confused for one another by the sextuplets and Chibita. *The very gag of "Kantaro's Part-Time Job" in which Kantaro masquerades as his uncle (by shaving off the man's mustache and wearing it as his own) was recycled for Osomatsu-kun's "Chibita the Policeman". However, Kantaro had also done such a prank to his grandfather in Nama-chan. *An awful childhood practical joke that Bakabon is subjected to in the early run of The Genius Bakabon involves him being tricked into staring at other boys' butts so they can fart in his face (which Bakabon then demonstrates on Papa). Noragaki proceeds to do the same trick to Diamonro in the Noragaki series. *Characters wind up losing weight from the heat of summer and/or diarrhea to become a literal stick figure; this originated from Bakabon but can notably be seen to also pop up in Osomatsu-kun's "The Appetite has Become a Line Drawing". *"The Cutie Nearby" in the second run of Osomatsu-kun ends with a punchline of Iyami discovering in horror that the woman he had feelings for is obese from the neck down, hence why she's single and won't leave her home. A chapter of ''Gag Shop'' homages this punchline in having a young man named Matsutaro, who had spent the story struggling to lose weight, discover that the pretty girl he'd see admiring him from a window happens to have a comically massive butt due to her eating habits. In both cases, the gag comes from a man only being able to see a woman's face or upper half in a window and finding her attractive, only to be disturbed by her full appearance. *Another chapter of the Shonen King ''-kun'' has Iyami acquire a trumpet that can attract women to him, even if they'd be normally repulsed by his attitude and ways. Akatsuka would expand upon this "Pied Piper of Hameln" parody in crafting Yarasete-ojisan, in which the very premise centers around a man with a magical trumpet that can get women to do as he pleases (though the trumpet also proves to have other uses). Works with Similar Premises Although such works by Akatsuka can certainly be different in how they play out, comparisons can be inevitable when it comes to some of their settings. Sometimes it may be a few points that can be compared, while there may also be more obvious parallels. Nama-chan vs. Ohana-chan Both were series that ran in Akita Shoten magazines (Manga King and Shojo Club), with the latter coming about as a way to make a similar title for girls. Although Ohana's father appeared in the very first one-shot, both she and Nama-chan live in single-parent dwellings with only a mother figure present. These works both present a slice of life type of comedy for their young, rambunctious protagonists that tend to give their mothers a hard time. However, Nama-chan was also one to experiment with alternative settings such as casting the lead and his friends in a Wild West tale. Meanwhile, Ohana-cha''n itself presented some early sightings of surreal creatures in Akatsuka comedy, blending the mundane with the magical. Both of the series would also have characters that would displace the original protagonists, when it came to either spin-offs or continued references in Akatsuka's greater body of work. * In ''Nama-chan's case, this applies to Kantaro: He received a 1961 mini-series in Akita Shoten's Adventure King, before becoming Chibita when Osomatsu-kun debuted. Even though a Shueisha revival of the Kantaro series would occur, the character was now unmistakeably that of Chibita, and some reprints would re-title and rename the stories to be "Chibita-kun". * In the case of Ohana-chan, it was Chikako (herself an evolution of a nameless Nama-chan character) that prevailed past the series: She would pick up an occasional guest role in [[Akko-chan's Got a Secret!|''Akko-chan's Got a Secret!]] as part of Akko-chan's supporting cast, as well as joining the casts of [[Otasuke-kun|''Otasuke-kun]], ''Ken-chan'', and having guest roles in various other works (Osomatsu-kun included). One run of Otasuke-kun would bear the title "Otasuke and Chika-chan" to reflect her increase in presence, although it still can't necessarily be said that she was its main protagonist. Matsuge-chan vs. Happy-chan Shortly before Nama-chan's serialization, Akita Shoten's shojo magazine Hitomi had also requested a work from Akatsuka; Matsuge-chan was the result, running from October 1958 to the closure of the magazine in March 1961 (where its April issue was put out early as a result). The series itself revolves around the life of a fifth grade girl, her family, and the antics she gets up to in her daily life in her neighborhood. The mischievous acts of Matsuge's younger brother Mimi furthered Akatsuka's preference for writing scrappy, naughty young children, and making him a predecessor to better-known types to follow (such as Chibita, the Matsuno brothers, and such). In March 1960, while Matsuge-chan had been running for well over a year, Akatsuka debuted the similar Happy-chan in Shueisha's Ribon magazine. This series served as a similar but different counterpart and competitor to Matsuge; the protagonist was a slightly younger girl in third grade, and her brother would be an adult ready for the prospects of marriage. Happy-chan would also be accompanied by a small puppy named Koro, who would serve as a sort of animal mascot for the series. Yet in similarities, Matsuge and Happy would also happen to have a friend with glasses and braids named Yo-chan. While both series had run parallel to each other for a little more than a year without acknowledgment of one another, they would come to have a more direct point of contact after Hitomi's closure; Happy-chan would run a few more months in Ribon ''until the title was ended to make way for a new run of ''Matsuge-chan to take its very place in July of that year. In paying nod to Akatsuka making a "baton pass" from Happy's series to Matsuge, both girls and their brothers would briefly meet each other in an October 1961 chapter before going their separate ways. Do Your Best, Mami-chan vs. Oh Ma-chan vs. Papa and Mami-chan Both of the first two works revolve around a young girl with an oversized braid and bow, who lives in a one-parent household along with exploring the gags and heartfelt bond of her and her parent. In Ma-chan, which had debuted in one-shot form prior to Mami-chan, the protagonist lives with her mother (giving it a similar set-up to Ohana-chan in itself), and this is eventually revealed to be due to her father working overseas. However, in Mami-chan, the protagonist's mother is deceased and it is her father who she grows up with. The third work revolves once more around a young girl named Mami and her Papa, with a similar setting of a deceased mother. In this case, Mami is much older and a preteen, and it can be considered that she is a grown-up version of the original Mami-chan or that her Papa's design was at the very least recycled. This one-shot is a little more serious in its tone, but still evoked a warm, slice of life atmosphere in the connections between Mami and the adults around her. While both Ma-chan and the first Mami-chan work ran in Kodansha's Nakayoshi magazine, the second Mami-chan story just so happened to be in Hitomi. ''As with the cases of ''Matsuge-chan and Happy-chan above, it would appear that this Mami-chan could be another case of Akatsuka taking an idea to be developed differently under a competing publisher. Mom NO.1 vs. What is this Mama? Akatsuka's 1976-1977 Weekly Shonen Sunday series revolves around a woman named Fukiko Yamada, whose husband had passed away shortly after her son's birth. To make sure her son Taro has a fulfilling life with both parents, she cross-dresses and takes on the role of a father to go to work and make money for the house. While Taro knows his mother's secret, the humor in the series comes from others such as her boss being clueless and confused as to why "Yamada-san" and his wife aren't seen in the same place. Eventually though, her secret becomes unveiled but she is still allowed to work and keep up her double identity through the series (as an eccentric man named Ryunoshin Hattori takes over some plots, in boarding with her and her son). Though a chapter named "Dad NO.1" existed in this series to show what things would be like with only a father raising his son, Akatsuka would decide to flip the premise around again for its own work in Gakken's Shonen Challenge. In the September to November 1980 issues, the three-shot What is this Mama? is about a young boy named Ichirota who is left unaware of his mother Tamiko's secret that startles and disgusts others; Tamiko is actually Ichirota's father, opting to have cross-dressed as his deceased wife in order to fulfill the absent role of a mother for his son. While Taro is aware from the start of his parental situation and accepting of the matter, Mama? ends in Ichirota disturbed by the revelation and wanting his father to "be a man" full-time instead; this results in his father forcing him to do household chores. The Flower of Kikuchiyo vs. The Cat House Owner Both of these series, the latter even seen as a self-homage of the former, revolve around a cat whose wealthy owner passes away and leaves all their money to him. Yet beyond that set-up, the similarities fade and both series diverge in their own humorous ways. * Kikuchiyo is not left any property in the will, and must find himself a new family in order to keep his great wealth. He quickly succeeds with a young boy named Tamao, and his wacky adventures with his new owners grow from there. While Kikuchiyo gets along with some humans and fancies himself equal to one, he also faces rivals to his popularity. * Spaghetti uses his money to become a real estate mogul and landlord, creating a massive apartment for humans and animal-humans alike to live in. His life is complicated by the assassination attempts by his owner's jealous and spurned son, Hamburg. Nyarome factors into both series as a guest role, being a rival to Kikuchiyo in the first and then being a cat mistakenly trailed by Iyami in the second (the man acting under Hamburg's orders to kill Spaghetti). Caster vs. Weekly Special Boy Both series came from Akatsuka's "Gag Guerrilla" mold of reflecting current scandals through stories with various characters, but both would be presented with the premise of a reporter going to investigate such events. The reporter Masaru Nashimoto, who would already be parodied by Akatsuka as his own self, proved to be influential in inspiring the design and attitude behind both protagonists of Caster and Nashitomo. Yet the similarities end within the content of both series; Caster was more outright shocking due to Akatsuka's loathing of taboos, to the point where it got its own magazine discontinued. Weekly Special Boy, while having its own extreme and hard to reprint content, was younger-geared and had managed to amass a little more staying power with its plots. Remade, Recycled, and Remixed Stories In this case, rather than there being a different work born from a similar concept, stories from one series will be outright recycled and turned into something new for another Akatsuka title. Sometimes, however, Akatsuka may even be keen to outright remake a chapter within the same series or deliver new twists to the familiar story. There is also the case where elements from older Akatsuka one-shots can be merged to create a new one for readers. "Kappataro the Kappa" (Nama-chan) vs. "A Kappa Appeared in the Pool" (Otasuke-kun) The Nama-chan chapter revolves around a young boy named Kappataro, who is mistaken for an actual kappa when he is found in the public swimming pool by Nama and Konpe. After hiding out at Nama's house, he is reunited and reconciles with his strict father, and goes home. The Otasuke-kun story has the similar-but-different "Kappa" and his own father, and other than some elements, the plot proceeds in a similar fashion with Otasuke and Ichiro being in place of Nama and Konpe. "In the Countryside" (Nama-chan) vs. "Do Your Homework and Go to the Country!" (Otasuke-kun) The Otasuke-kun story, as the kappa chapter had been, is a clear lifting and remake of the Nama-chan one down to some exact panel compositions. However, there are also some alterations to be made, such as some changes in the number of animal-like children and even a name or two. The framing sequence to set up the story is also different. "Tenpei and Sister" (1960) and "White Kappogi" (1961) vs. "Kyuhei and Sister" (1966) These two Shojo Club one-shots, both revolving around a young girl named Junko and her brother Tenpei, had their storylines merged together along with some newly-added elements to create an even stronger one-shot revolving around life in the 1960s and the longer-term harmful effects of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The resulting Kyuhei and Sister would be published in Ribon in March 1966, marking another example of Akatsuka reconstructing an idea for a different publisher. For the new story, Junko and Tenpei were replaced with the otherwise similar Yukiko and Kyuhei. The otherwise-nameless "Croquette nii-san" from the first story was given the name of Hiroshi, but mostly known as the "Camera Shop nii-san". His niece Yaeko, original to this new tale, also plays a notable part. "Chibita the Safe-Cracker" (Osomatsu-kun, 1965 vs. 1972 versions) This chapter, loosely based from O. Henry's "A Retrieved Reformation", revolves around a setting where Chibita is a former thief attempting to give up safe-breaking while trailed by Detective Iyami. Chibita plays the role of Jimmy Valentine, while Iyami plays Ben Price. In both versions of the story, Chibita falls for the fishmonger's daughter Totoko, who serves as a stand-in for Annabel Adams. There are notable differences between both versions though, particularly where the presence of the Sextuplets are concerned. In the original telling, Osomatsu and Choromatsu become locked in the safe (as one of Annabel's nieces had), necessitating Chibita to save them. Yet, when it comes to the remake and perhaps to make more of a personal connection, it is Totoko who instead becomes trapped in the safe and who Chibita must rescue. The second version of the story also has some more crude humor at the start in comparison to the first, in which Chibita is bullied and farted on by the inmates Dekapan and Dayon. However, in comparison to the eventual 1972-1973 relaunch of -kun in Shonen King that would ensue weeks later, this chapter still stands out for being rather tame. There are two animated adaptations of the chapter that exist, with the 1966 version being based from the existing Shonen Sunday version while the 1988 version was a merger of elements from the Shonen Sunday version with the more recent Shonen King one (mainly keeping the whole element of the trapped Totoko intact). "A Fool Should Be Made in Japan" (The Genius Bakabon, 1967 vs. 1975 versions) This chapter detailing the appearance of Non-chan became one of the popular stories of the original Weekly Shonen Magazine run, to where when it came to for the 1975 100-Page Special to commemorate the release of the anime The Original Genius Bakabon, Akatsuka opted to do a short remake of it for the new decade. However, beyond recycling the basic premise, Akatsuka's new telling had an entirely altered punchline as well as new elements added, such as Non claiming to be married but merely living at the house of a man who'd pretend to be Tarzan. "Boy Friday Continues" and "Boy Friday + Noragaki" vs. "Noragaki" The Boy Friday stories that featured the takeover of Noragaki as the lead character would find their material chopped up and recycled for usage in the Noragaki series itself, although some of these chapters could lead to confusion due to the sudden appearance of a father cat and siblings (along with their just-as abrupt disappearance). The references to the demise of Boss and Friday were particularly excised, along with an inappropriate scene of a naked Noragaki being licked by his family for "bath time". The Noragaki pilot chapter that predated the three Boy Friday stories was also recycled and redone for the series, with its climax and punchline changed out. All five "Visit to a Senior's House" chapters (The Genius Bakabon, 1976) In these five, subsequent final chapters of the 1970s Bakabon run in Weekly Shonen Magazine, a repetitive formula plays out with Bakabon's Papa visiting a former Bakada senior student's house, only for the other man's child to come out to sniff Papa's butt and then start giving him trouble on his visit. Prior to this, Akatsuka had twice shamelessly employed the concept of recycling a story for Bakabon ''as a form of experiment and saving time;'' In one case, he dedicated four weeks straight to similar but different chapters of the Police Officer with Connected Eyes interrogating a criminal (whose design would also be the same template each time, save for some differences in his features). In another, a story involving a manga-ka and his editor was recycled for two weeks with each version having a different ending punchline; in one case, the men were revealed to be asylum patients acting out such roles behind bars. In the second version, the editing staff turn out to be aliens and depart for outer space. While Akatsuka had made sure to vary up certain gags between each "Visit" story as with the above examples, the recycling of the same basic plot for five weeks in a row for the end of the series may have been indication of it being a time-saving measure, or perhaps Akatsuka finding it funny to re-use a same but different plot that many more times. Character Archetype Re-use Although Akatsuka's Star System exists as a device of its own and there may also be cases of clear lookalikes for certain characters, there are also characters that can be said to be either a visual or spiritual homage to earlier or better-known ones in his series (if not mere re-use, such as the initial case of Ryohei). Some of these examples may also refer to characters that became prototypes to such better-known ones in the Star System, with their inspirations being long forgotten. Akatsuka himself would have favored visual traits and faces that he could use for characters, equating it to a "design bank". Thus, Tama-chan of Tamanegi Tama-chan could have a face a little similar to Chibita, his friend Bokenasu could have some features of Hatabo, and so on. Misuzu and Ryohei (Mother's Song) vs. Sachiko and Ryohei (Happy-chan) The two siblings in the former example would get one more outing in Mimi and Iko-chan as a duo (Iko and Ryohei), but when it came time for Happy-chan, only Ryohei was imported over. In both examples, Ryohei is a young man of marriageable age. He happens to have favor for a young woman, who just so happens to be the older sister of his own sister's friend. In Mother's Song, the young woman is Kyouko, elder sister of Ito-chan, while her Happy-chan equivalent is nameless but the sister of Yo-chan. Sachiko/"Happy" herself can be seen as a much younger replacement figure for Misuzu, and she fulfills the same basic role in being a protagonist with an adult brother. The father figure between series is also identical and the Imagawa shop owner and his kids re-appear, furthering the idea that Akatsuka re-used some elements from Mother's Song while replacing others. Eventually though, the Ryohei of Happy-chan became much more visually distinct from his older design, and his new look would find itself recycled for other purposes after the series' end. Yo-chan (Matsuge-chan) vs. Yo-chan (Happy-chan) As mentioned in the comparisons between the two series, one striking parallel between their cast of characters that both Matsuge and Happy, aside from their similar appearances and design evolution, have very similar best friends in name and appearance. * The Yo-chan in Matsuge-chan is a tomboyish girl initially given a full name-drop as Yoshiko, but is referred to as Kayoko in a later instance. This may be perhaps due to Akatsuka's own oversight, or not wanting her to be mistaken for the one in Happy-chan, which was running at the time of the latter chapter. Yo-chan's braids had also become more simplified like the other's at that time. * The Yoshiko (aka: "Yo-chan") in Happy-chan is younger, more modest, and feminine in her style of dress. While the Yo-chan above would seem to be an only child, this one has an older sister who works as an office lady. However, if these two were meant to be simply similar but different characters, more aspects of the second Yo-chan's design had just so happen to have spilled back into the first one by the time of her final appearance in the "Instance" story. This may be likely due to Akatsuka having to draw and serialize both titles in the same interval, causing some conflation of the character designs. Ichiro, Papa, and Gorilla (Otasuke-kun) vs. Hiroshi, Papa, and the Maid (I am Violent Tetsu!) Both father figures are company presidents, and the latter even is a clear re-use of a design with the exception of his nose being inverted. As with Ichiro, Hiroshi is referred to by the father as his "dumb child" (baka musuko), and the housekeeper is a brutish and ugly woman who is rather off-putting to strangers. The basic character set-up is as far as this goes however, as Hiroshi is an initially played off as an antagonistic, spoiled boy who warms to Tetsu, while Ichiro is a rather dumb, simple but mischievous child. The White Snow Boss and His Offshoots The criminal known as "The White Snow Boss" (Shirayuki Oyabun, Shirayuki-senpai) in ''Leave it to Chota'' is best known for being repurposed as a Bakada colleague in The Genius Bakabon. Yet aside from his own re-appearances as a bit part in titles, he also has suspiciously-similar lookalikes that may pop up elsewhere. A boy named Yasuo (one of many by that name, in fact) even has such a mountain-headed father in Noragaki Akatsuka Offshoots and General Author Stand-ins If not simply having himself cameo or interact with his characters, Akatsuka would have an array of different alter-egos either directly or loosely inspired by his own self. Some may have some resemblance to his looks and life, while others go only as far as having a spoof-patterned name or being put in his place of being a manga author. * Dai-sensei ("Great Master") of We are 8 Pro * Fujio Bakatsuka of The Genius Bakabon, who resembles Dayon but is a stand-in for Akatsuka himself. Though he appears a few more times through the series, there are other named and unnamed parodies (along with those of his editors) that also pop up in stories themed around the creation of manga. Prior to the usage of Bakatsuka, Dayon himself starred as an Akatsuka-like figure in Horahora no oji-san, and a prototypical character to Dayon named Mamoru Shimekiri was the focus of a manga deadline-themed Osomatsu-kun chapter. **Ahoo Ahotsuka is another such author, along with an Ahoo Bakatsuka. Another, Irao Iratsuka, is an Akatsuka parody that can only draw well when enraged. * Fujio Kusotsuka of Unkor Wat. He is little more than a 2D version of Akatsuka who is into "unchaeology" (research of unko, feces) and sets out to learn of the legendary Unkor Wat. * Ahoo Bakatsuka of Gakitopia and Ujabaland, a manga-ka who winds up encountering unusual and intimidating societies. * Funiyo Bakatsuka of Kong Father, appearing in a chapter where he has a nightmare about his wart (who just so happens to resemble his editor) coming to life to wreak havoc. * The legendary Dai-sensei of Reading Dai-sensei. ''Though he is very little like Akatsuka, he interacts with the man's colleagues and characters. * Fujio Shiratsuka of the 1994 edition of ''Mom NO.1. ''He is a young manga-ka living at the Urena-so apartment complex. "Ganmo of the Tofu Shop" A specific common type of figure through early Akatsuka works would be a young man that would happen to be the son of a tofu shop owner, and who would just so happen to have a very fitting and punny name for the type of food served there. Though the boys' names and family business are the same, their appearances and characterization are far different. # The very first such Ganmo, nicknamed "Gan-san", is a rough neighborhood boy in ''Nama-chan. # '' Even after the Ganmo above vanished after his given appearance, another similar boy (if not the same figure with a significant redesign) appeared later on in the series and referred to as "Gan-chan". As with the first, his family belongs to a tofu shop. # ''Ohana-chan pays reference to an unseen "Ganmo of the Tofu Shop" in a chapter, and he is likely a separate boy entirely. # Osomatsu-kun has its own "Ganmo of the Tofu Shop", appearing in the chapter "Deceiving Totoko-chan!" # The best-known "Ganmo of the Tofu Shop" debuted in Akko-chan's Got a Secret!, although his very design had already seen some use with Sansuke (of O-chan's Eleven Friends), Choromatsu (of ''Jinx-kun''), and had appeared a few times as a hair-bearing Chibita/Mr. Wakasugi/Takeaki Takeyama in Osomatsu-kun. Yet later on, it can be seen that Chibita and Ganmo are indeed separate entities, although the same cannot necessarily be confirmed for Ganmo and Otasuke-kun. As with Chibita, it can be said that Ganmo (and his predecessors or previous roles) is another possible offshoot of Kantaro's character design, for Kantaro had similar hair when he was re-used as the guest "Ken-chan" in Matsuge-chan. Category:Fujio Akatsuka Category:Fujio Pro